Comments

I wonder if that fish is suffering. And the laughter... WOnder if they'd be laughing if it were a human infant.

Posted by: TANK | Nov 18, 2009 5:39:32 PM

The fish clip is just sick. I'd love to see those pricks hung inch by inch into a vat of piranhas.

Schaeffer is a true Christian, not like the right wing blow hards.

Posted by: patrick nyc | Nov 18, 2009 5:53:25 PM

Oh god; that fish clip was literally disgusting. I can't imagine how people can be so cruel as to cook and eat something while it is still alive--mocking and laughing at its death throes as it is slowly picked apart. I am so never eating in a Chinese restaurant again.

Posted by: Christopher | Nov 18, 2009 6:02:55 PM

I hope those people in the fish clip get what's coming to them. That's f***ed-up! I'm no vegetarian and I love lobster, but while watching that--all I kept thinking was 'what was that poor fish going through/thinking?'

Posted by: Morgan | Nov 18, 2009 6:12:55 PM

The fish was probably thinking "all my life, I've dreamt of putting smiles on the faces of countless many, but who knew it would come at such a price! Thirty bucks!" It was a deep existential crisis. No...one doesn't need to the capacity to "Think" to suffer. That is the only ethical question--can it suffer.

Posted by: TANK | Nov 18, 2009 6:24:26 PM

As if it wasn't bad enough that we mame, torture and kill each other, now we have to think of the most inhumane ways possible of doing it to animals too?

Between the undercover Fox News video earlier this week showing what goes on at that Pennsylvania pork plant and this today, I'm officially and completely disgusted in the human race.

Posted by: Matty | Nov 18, 2009 6:24:58 PM

All of the fish caught for food are alive at one point and suffering just the same. As are all of the other animals we call 'food'. So if you eat animals, just because yours was killed by someone you paid to do it and dead by the time it arrived on your plate doesn't mean it didn't ALSO suffer.

It is unlikely that that fish is still alive. It's movements are likely post death reflexes.

Posted by: pablo | Nov 18, 2009 9:50:31 PM

They must have protected the head when they cooked, and made the twitching a selling point. When the rest is cooked, there's likely little pain receptors left.

As for the "mocking and laughing" it's shocked and nervous laughter. They actually are wondering if it will actually move at the beginning and the older woman suggests they tap it's head. On more than one occasion they state how horrifying it is. When they calm down the older woman tells her son to start.

It's not as if they could do anything for it other than eat what they are paying for. Hell, it isn't even as monstrous as the "fun" we have with genetics on animals and plants. What's worse is they live their entire grotesque and steroid-filled lives waiting for butchering. But hey, out of sight out of mind, right?

Posted by: Keith | Nov 19, 2009 12:26:18 AM

I'm Chinese-American and I am also extremely appalled by the fish video. I can assure you that 9 out of 10 Chinese people would find this disturbing (even the women in the video were saying how disgusting it was, but it was the dicky guys who were laughing). But I am also appalled by Christopher's comment that he was "never eating at a Chinese restaurant again." Please don't paint such a broad stroke against a diverse culture of 1.3 billion people. Veal is also disgusting- feeding a baby cow liquid all his life and constraining him in a cage so that his muscles literally waste away. But I would never say I am "never eating at a American/European restaurant again."

Posted by: Reikun | Nov 19, 2009 1:51:10 AM

I think it's very interesting that people have more to say about the death of a fish than they do about Frank Schaeffer's chilling words about the increasing threat of assassination of our president. One thing he said that I thought the commenters here would seize upon but have remained silent about was this:

"Obama supporters...had better start speaking up in support of him and not sniping at him all the time because he's not moving towards change as fast as we'd like in every area. This is serious stuff. The chips are down. He has real enemies, some of them are violent. And as far as I'm concerned is time to support our president, stand with him and not only wish him the best but... pray for his safety, in the face of these religious maniacs..."

It's undeniable that there has been plenty of "sniping" at Obama from the gay "community" for not moving fast enough on gay issues. So if Schaeffer is correct in his assessment, what should be the response from the gay "community?" Do our civil rights predominate his safety? And if not, will we, as Schaeffer suggests, stop "sniping" and openly support him?

Posted by: Q | Nov 19, 2009 4:25:15 AM

I don't know what country that fish clip was taken from, but we need to consider dropping a nuke on them. They are probably the same sick fucks who made those films of people stepping on puppies and kittens (google it, totally true).

Posted by: andy | Nov 19, 2009 7:35:21 AM

Matty, it took you THIS LONG to get disgusted with the human race? Were you just born yesterday or something?

Posted by: andy | Nov 19, 2009 7:36:28 AM

@ANDY: only one group of people would be so callous as to consider dropping a nuke on another country for alleged cruelty to animals. Which is the only country to have ever used nukes on civilians? Oh right....

Posted by: Traveler Q | Nov 19, 2009 9:01:23 AM

I think I am addicted to flash mob videos. They put me in a good mood for some reason.

Posted by: Kristopher | Nov 19, 2009 12:26:52 PM

I'm with you, Q. I am disappointed by the lack of response to that guy's call to action.

It's not even been ten months, people.

Stand up for our President.

Posted by: Rodney Wollam | Nov 19, 2009 1:33:38 PM

I would stop eating at chinese restaurants, but I'm jewish. It's really about as likely as one of sarah palin's spawn getting a rhodes. Genetic--beyond control.

Posted by: TANK | Nov 19, 2009 1:49:24 PM

God, I can't stand it when people make comments like "you're worried about the fish, think about starvation in Africa" or some such nonsense.
If you've got a brain, you can think and/or worry about more than one thing at one time.

Posted by: stolidog | Nov 19, 2009 3:10:14 PM

God, I can't stand it when people make pointless criticisms instead of adding any insight to a legitimate inquiry.